On 24 September, as part of the celebration of the 65th JINR anniversary, Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Poland, and the Republic of Slovakia to the Russian Federation arrived in Dubna. A round-table meeting with the JINR Directorate in the large hall of the JINR Scientists’ Club gave start to the visit.

JINR Director in his welcoming speech highlighted that the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia – as one of the founding states of JINR – have been taking an active part in the formation of the JINR scientific programme and helped with staffing since the very beginning of the Institute’s history. The Director touched upon a wide range of topical issues of the life of the Institute in his speech, from caring for staff members from the JINR Member States during the pandemic to the strategic development plan and positive expectations from the upcoming CP session in Bulgaria. “Today, we have gathered on the occasion of the anniversary of our common home on the banks of the Volga river. Dear colleagues, let me extend my sincere congratulations on its 65th anniversary and express my confidence that we are in for new achievements for the benefit of the Member States and the entire scientific community thanks to your support,” Grigory Trubnikov said.

Ambassador of the Republic of Poland Krzysztof Krajewski expressed gratitude to the Institute for fruitful scientific work and expressed hope that despite all the challenges the cooperation would continue for the benefit of the Institute’s Member States and the entire world. Ambassador of the Republic of Slovakia Ľubomír Rehák noted the changes that had recently taken place in both the city and the Institute. “Dubna is a platform for meetings that unites not only countries but peoples as well,” this is the way Ambassador of the Czech Republic Vítězslav Pivoňka characterised the importance of the city for scientific cooperation.

The culmination of the visit of Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassadors was their participation in the 130th session of the JINR Scientific Council. The distinguished guests greeted the JINR scientific community and congratulated the team and partners of the Institute on the 65th JINR anniversary.

“Given not only scientific but also personal strength of people and teams working here, it’s just natural that there is plenty of results and achievements making the Institute and its people famous not only here, in Russia and the Member States, but also in a wider research community, in the whole scientific world,” Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Russia Vítězslav Pivoňka noted in his address.

Krzysztof Krajewski, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Russia, highlighted the invaluable importance of science as an element uniting various nationalities in the name of a common goal, “The life of the Institute, which includes several decades of research work, is a direct proof that despite political problems it is possible to find areas of cooperation for the benefit of each of the parties.”

Congratulating the Joint Institute on its 65th anniversary, Ambassador of the Republic of Slovakia to Russia Ľubomír Rehák noted that “during this period, the Institute indeed has managed to achieve remarkable results, and we expect even more in the forthcoming years.”

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In the frames of the programme, the guests visited the interactive exhibition dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the international institution where they left their notes in the visitors’ book. The ambassadors together with their accompanying delegations visited the MPD experimental hall and the factory of superconducting magnets at VBLHEP. A significant part of the visit of the heads of the diplomatic missions was the communication with the national groups of the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia in JINR.

A festive start of work of the room stock in the hotel on 2, Moscovskaya street was timed to coincide with the visit of the honorary guests. This was a long-awaited event in the Institute’s life. In the Year of Bulgaria at JINR, a photo exhibition dedicated to the nature and culture of Bulgaria has been already opened in the hotel. The Czech Republic took over the baton of floor decoration: on that day, in the presence of the guests and JINR leaders, an exposition opened decorated with photographs of notable places of the Czech Republic kindly provided by the Czech tourism development agency CzechTourism. An opening ceremony of a commemorative plaque continued the programme. The plaque was installed with the participation of JINR Vice-Director Latchesar Kostov and the distinguished guests. It says the following, “Renovation of the hotel was completed in 2021 to the 65th anniversary of JINR. General contractor: ASARKO LLC (Czech Republic).” The diplomats from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Slovakia became also the first guests of the newly opened hotel and left positive reviews.

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At a press conference, JINR Director Grigory Trubnikov commented on the visit of the honorary guests, “We witness a grand event today: three Ambassadors of highly active Member States of the Institute have arrived in Dubna on one day. Such a trinity indicates that Dubna is regarded as a platform for expanding any format of interaction and not only a scientific one, as H.E. Vítězslav Pivoňka has already noted today. All three Ambassadors have highlighted that the Institute plays a significant role not only in the promotion of science and development of scientific projects but also in integration. This is getting one of the important missions of our organization.”

Photos by Elena Puzynina and Igor Lapenko